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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Senate Health Care Bill Restores Abstinence-Only Funding

While the Senate toned down the House's language on abortion restrictions, it may have ratcheted things up with another controversial, reproductive health issue: abstinence-only education. Sec. 2954 of the Senate health reform bill, released Wednesday evening, restores funding for abstinence education.

Their provision would restore a program called Title V, which, since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, has allocated a yearly $50 million in grants to abstinence-only education programs.

If the Senate language survives reconciliation, the Title V program will be extended through 2014.